Chapter Text
Scorpius is looking out the window, the sky has gone dark as rain is pouring down. He sighs as he rests his chin in his hand, leaning onto the backrest of the couch. Albus usually comes home at 7 but it’s 7:45 and there is still no sign of his boyfriend. A faint meow catches his attention and he looks down at Gracie who is nudging his other arm with her nose.
‘Hey there, little one.’
She climbs on top of his legs as she reaches her nose up to nudge his face, begging him for some attention and affection. Gracie adores Albus and Albus adores Gracie - Scorpius likes to think it’s because they both tend to be moody sometimes but their need for love attention and affection, begging for it every time, is a constant. Albus found Gracie outside when she was little. He had just finished work when he saw he wandering right next to the road, he took her home with him because she was only a little kitten. He promised Scorpius he would only take her in to make sure she was healthy and cared for, until she was big enough to go to a shelter to be adopted by someone else. Naturally, Scorpius didn’t believe a single word when Albus said this. He loves animals too much and gets attached to them in the smallest span of time. So it didn’t come as a surprise when he begged Scorpius to please keep Gracie.
This is what happens with every animal Albus comes home with. It’s how they got Gracie, the stray kitten but it wasn’t just her. Charlie and Max were a mass of legs and fur as they lay together in Charlie’s bed. Albus found the two dogs tied to a tree at the side of the road. Two small puppies soaked to the bone. Albus had ordered Scorpius to stop the car, jumped out of it to get the two of them and took them home with him. A small snow owl was perched up the stick in her cage as she peacefully slept. They never send her out during a storm as Albus found her with two broken wings. He’s too scared she will hurt her wings again causing her to never being able to fly again. So they keep Hedwig, named after the owl Albus’ father had during his Hogwarts years, mostly inside during the nights and stormy days. A duckling was sleeping in a self made bed in the corner of the room, near the dogs. Charlie and Frank are always watching over little Daisy when Albus isn’t around. If he is she will follow him all around the house as if he’s her mother.
Daisy’s head perches upright as the roaring of an engine comes closer. Headlights light up the room as a car pulls into the driveway.
‘Look who’s home!’ Scorpius says and Gracie meows as she joins Scorpius in watching the car pull to a stop in the driveway.
The motion light in front of their house turns on as Albus gets out of the car. He walks to the other side, pulling open the door of the passenger seat and Scorpius squints his eyes to see what he’s getting. The pouring rain making it harder to see.
‘What is he getting, Gracie?’ Scorpius asks the cat, getting a soft meow in return.
He watches Albus close the passenger door with his foot and in his hands is-
‘A box, of course,’ Scorpius jumps up from the couch, waking up Charlie and Max at once. The three animals quickly follow Scorpius to the front door, already knowing who’s going to be on the other side. Charlie wags his tail happily as Max circles around Scorpius’ feet excitedly. ‘Guys, come on. I’m trying to get to the door,’ Scorpius mumbles as he softly pushes Max away from in front of his feet - trying not to trip over them.
Scorpius opens the door and a soaking wet Albus is standing on the doormat, a smile on his face as he holds the box tightly. Scorpius quickly moves out of the way to let Albus in, watching the trace of water he leaves behind on the floor as he walks into the dining room. Followed by little Daisy who had jumped out of her bed.
‘Good evening to you too!’ Scorpius calls after him and he closes the door.
Albus comes walking into the hallway again, nearly slipping because of his wet shoes. The sound of Daisy’s feet on the wooden floor following him closely. Albus’ smile has been replaced by a smirk as his brown eyes light up.
‘No!’ Scorpius holds his hand out, trying to keep Albus at a distance. ‘Don’t you dare, Albus Severus Potter. Don’t you-’
But he’s cut off by Albus charging toward him, wrapping his arms around Scorpius’ waist as he pulls him close. His wet hair tickling Scorpius’ nose and his wet coat soaking Scorpius’ sweater.
Albus’ giggles echo through the hallway and he can’t help but smile at the sound. Brown eyes look up into his and just like every time he looks into those eyes, his breath gets taken away. He can stare into them for hours and never get enough of them.
‘Good evening, my love,’ Albus whispers before softly pressing his lips to Scorpius’.
For a moment time is standing still and it’s just the two of them standing in the hallway of their own home as they’re tangled up in a sweet, soft kiss. Just the two of them- until they’re interrupted by the animals demanding Albus’ attention. Charlie and Max let out soft barks as the latter jumps up against Albus.
‘Hey there children,’ Albus’ voice gets much higher than Scorpius is used to and he can’t help but giggle at him.
Albus squats down and is attacked by Charlie and Max who try to lick his face, welcoming him back home.
‘I bet my kisses are nothing compared to those,’ Scorpius says as he looks down at his soaking wet sweater. ‘You might want to take that coat off and dry your hair. Maybe also explain what’s in that box that you just carried into the dining room. Though I can almost guess what it might be.’
Albus looks up at Scorpius as he’s laying on his back. Gracie is perched up on top of his stomach and the dogs are sprawled out onto the floor right next to him. All four of them are looking up at Scorpius and he can feel his heart melt at the image of it.
‘Come on,’ Scorpius picks up Gracie who protests his actions with a whiny meow. ‘Don’t you dare give me that attitude.’ Scorpius holds her in his arms as she nudges his face with her nose as if to say she’s sorry.
Albus scrambles up from the floor and takes his coat off. Scorpius puts Gracie down and takes off to put on a dry sweater, grabbing a towel on his way back downstairs. His boyfriend is sitting down in one of the chairs in the dining room and Scorpius gently dries his hair for him. Soft meows come from the box as Scorpius presses a soft kiss to the crown of Albus’ head.
He gets up from the chair and carefully opens the carton box. ‘I found these stray kittens on my way home from work.’ Scorpius sighs softly and Albus looks up at him, his eyes pleading for his boyfriend to please listen to him. ‘They’re too small to survive on their own, Scor. Especially without a mother to take care of them. Someone left them in this box to die. I couldn’t leave them behind.’
Scorpius walks over to Albus as he cups his cheek with his hand. ‘Of course you couldn’t,’ he whispers as he pecks Albus’ other cheek. ‘So what do we do?’ He wraps an arm around Albus’ waist as he looks down at the box.
Albus carefully lifts one of the kittens out of the box and Scorpius gasps at the sight of how tiny it is.
‘I think they’re about 2 weeks old, maybe younger,’ Albus mumbles. ‘I’ll get them warmed up first, kittens can’t control their own body temperature. Then I’ll feed them and do so every 3 hours. I did a quick stop to the grocery store, but I forgot the bag in the car.’
‘I’ll get it,’ Scorpius says.
‘Thank you,’ Albus says as he looks up at Scorpius again. ‘You’re the best.’
Scorpius presses a soft kiss to his lips before smirking at him. ‘I know that.’
Scorpius wakes and turns his head toward the alarm clock on his nightstand. 3am. He has been asleep for about 3 hours now even though it feels like he had only just fallen asleep. He reaches out to the other side of the bed, trying to find Albus. Wanting to bask in the warmth of his arms as he tries to fall asleep again. But the other side of the bed is cold and when Scorpius turns around, Albus isn’t there.
He gets up from the bed, putting on his slippers before tiptoeing down the stairs. He can hear soft whispers coming from the living room and when he rounds the corner he can see Albus sitting on the couch. His legs are crossed as he feeds one of the kittens with a bottle. His hair is a mess and his glasses are perched up on his nose as he’s whispering encouraging words toward the small creature. Max and Charlie are laying on the floor in front of the couch, looking up at their owner, watching his every move. Little Daisy is perched up on his shoulder, eyes closed as she rests her head against Albus’ neck.
Scorpius enters the room, trying not to startle the bunch. ‘Hey, how are the little ones doing?’
Gracie’s bed is on the couch next to Albus, the other three kittens quietly sleeping next to a heating pad that’s keeping them warm. Gracie is watching over them as she lays next to it.
Albus looks up, dark circles painting the skin under his eyes but a beautiful smile on his face nonetheless. ‘They’re doing really well, aren’t you?’ he says to the kitten as he holds it up, softly petting its head. ‘I just finished feeding them all, I already set my alarm to feed them again in 3 hours. I’ll just clean up and get them settled in our room so I can keep an eye on them.’
Scorpius smiles at him. He softly picks up Daisy from Albus’ shoulder. Giving him the freedom to get up before putting the little duckling down in its bed.
‘Come on babies, off to bed,’ the raven haired boy whispers to the two dogs. They settle into their beds and Albus gives them a quick kiss. Following up by giving the little duckling one as its eyes follow Albus all the way back to the couch - Scorpius knows that if she’s given the chance she’ll follow him all the way up to the bedroom, but they managed to teach her to stay in her bed during the night.
Albus gently picks up Gracie’s bed as the latter settles in the corner of the couch, purring contently because she usually doesn’t get to sleep on the couch. He follows Scorpius up the stairs and sets the bed down on the nightstand that he cleared earlier that night. He lets himself fall onto the bed, taking his glasses off as Scorpius pulls the covers over the two of them. Gesturing for Albus to come closer. He envelops the boy up in his arms and Albus lets out a content sigh. Nestling his nose into the crook of Scorpius’ neck, softly pressing a kiss to his skin.
‘This is nice,’ he sighs and a giggle escapes Scorpius’ lips when his breath tickles the bare skin of his neck. ‘Thank you for always putting up with me taking all these creatures into the house. I know it can be pretty overwhelming to have them around, so thank you.’
‘You’re too good for this world, Albus Severus Potter. Your heart is one of gold,’ Scorpius whispers before pressing a kiss to Albus’ hair. ‘How crazily fortunate am I to be loved by you.’